Helpful Advice about Vocational Discernment

I always appreciate hearing advice from someone who actually has first-hand experience with what they're talking about, don't you? I just read a great article on Vision Vocation Network about the keys to discernment when it comes to a possible vocation to religious life. Check it out here:

The Three Keys to Successful Vocation Decisions by Sister Rosann Ocken, O.S.B.

Discernment Resources!

I know that when I was discerning about my vocation and was wondering if I might be called to be a sister, there was one thing that I desperately wanted but did not know how to find. What was it you may ask? Conversation with and advice from other young women who were discerning or who were in the early stages of religious formation. There was little to nothing available online at the time, and (as far as I could tell) I was the only young woman I knew who was thinking about being a nun. Processing my thoughts, questions, fears, and hopes about religious life would have been so much simpler, I thought, with more information or at least someone to share the journey of discernment with!

Fortunately for those who are currently wondering about religious life and/or discerning their own potential call to be a sister or nun, things have changed a great deal over the last decade! Quite a few resources have been developed, including blogs written by young women who are discerning, in formation, or newly professed sisters. What a great opportunity to learn about their experiences, to ask your questions, and to hear what the process of joining a religious community is like!

One place to read all about it is the website of Giving Voice, an organization of younger women religious. They have a collection of blogs here from some of their members who represent a sample of the variety of religious communities. I encourage you to visit this site, choose a blog or two to check out, and curl up with a good cup of coffee and tea some evening.

Welcome, Lent!

Lent is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on our lives, our journeys in faith, our relationships with one another and with God. Are we, as persons, aware of any habits, attitudes, or patterns of thought that need changing? Have we taken the time to examine the communities that we belong to lately with open eyes? What sort of growth are we being called to as we begin the journey towards Easter and new life?

We've collected a few Lenten resources that may be helpful for your prayer and reflection during this season. Feel free to pass this list along to others or to suggest additions!

Lenten Water Reflection: The members of the SSND Atlantic-Midwest Province Water Committee invite you to spend time during Lent 2015 to reflect on the priceless gift of water in our world today. To assist you, they have created an online Lenten Calendar that is designed to help us ponder, study, celebrate, and protect this natural resource, which is in severe ecological crisis. The Lenten Calendar begins on Ash Wednesday, includes weekly Sunday reflections and concludes with reflections for the Easter Triduum and Easter Sunday.

Lent resource:  Creation Covenant is a 2015 Lenten resource that explores God's covenant with all creation in light of present-day habitat loss and the extinction of plants and animals.  The five-week program for individuals or groups connects Christ's suffering 2000 years ago with his suffering today "in ten thousand places" (G. M. Hopkins) so that we respond not only to Jesus’ suffering and death but also to the suffering and death within creation where God lives and acts.  Designed by Terri MacKenzie, SHCJ, Creation Covenant is a timely response to what Pope Francis wrote in Joy of the Gospel: "God has joined us so closely to the world around us that we can feel . . . the extinction of a species as a painful disfigurement. Let us not leave in our wake a swath of destruction and death which will affect our own lives and those of future generations.


Pope Francis' Message for Lent 2015 can be found here - it makes for good reflective reading, especially during this first week of the season. 

Speaking of the Pope, FOCUS (Fellowship Of Catholic University Students) has put together a list of his Top 10 Lent Tips.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has created a Lenten Calendar which offers daily suggestions for prayer and activity.

The great sisters at A Nun's Life have shared this resource - 40 suggested attitudes that one could give up for Lent!